BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study is to analyze histological findings of the gallbladders removed during elective cholecystectomy at Hospital Universitário Presidente Dutra, São Luís, MA. METHOD: From January 1990 to December 1998, 2.008 patients underwent elective cholecystectomy, 359 of them males (17,9%) and 1.649 females (82,1%), with a mean age of 46,3 years. The gallbladder was oppened and examined by the surgeon and sent to histological examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of gallbladder carcinoma was 2,3% (46 patients). Thirty-three patients (71,7%) were over 60 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Elective prophylatic cholecystectomy should be performed in asymptomatic patients over 60 years of age with cholelythiasis and good clinical conditions.
Gallbladder carcinoma; Cholelythiasis; Cholecystectomy
